9 Bulldogs suiting up for National teams in IIHF Women’s World Championships

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - The college and professional women’s hockey seasons have ended but in April former and current Bulldogs will have another chance to get on the ice and in between the benches again.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship begins Wednesday, April 3 at 10 a.m. with a matchup between the Denmark and Sweden national teams.

For Sweden two current Bulldogs, freshman forward Ida Karlsson and senior defenseman Paula Bergstrom, will be joining former goalie Emma Soderberg in her third straight year backstopping for Sweden’s National Team.

Soderberg also protected the net for Sweden during the 2022 Winter Olympics where they suffered a loss to the Canadian National Team in the quarterfinal round.

Bergstrom will be competing for the first time in the World Championships, while her teammate Karlsson made the roster for the first time after a Bulldog season that ended one game away from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Frozen Four.

Senior Defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith will join her current teammates on the world stage for Team Germany. This will be Jobst-Smith’s second time on the national roster during college.

She will be joined by a former Bulldog goaltender, Jennifer Harss, who is a strength and conditioning coach for Germany.

Former Bulldogs Ashton Bell and Jocelyne Larocque will be joining Team Canada again, Bell will be making her third stint with the team while Larocque is making her 11th appearance. The duo won an Olympic gold medal together in 2022 while Larocque also picked one up with Canada’s win in 2014.

Those two will be joined once again by four-time gold medalist Caroline Ouellette who is taking on the assistant coaching role once again.

Former Bulldogs Blanka Skodova and Katerina Mrazova made the Czechia roster after both players helped them earn a bronze medal in the 2022 Olympics.

Lara Stalder, a former UMD All-American will once again be on the Switzerland national team after doing so since 2011.

Team Finland will also be using a former Bulldog to help their championship hopes with Sara Niemi an assistant coach for the staff she won a bronze medal with in 2010.

As mentioned above, the IIHF World Championship begins on Wednesday but goes through April 14, for more information click here.

Click here to download the Northern News Now app or our Northern News Now First Alert weather app.